We are living in a time of war in Israel. Alongside the external danger, there is something else we all feel—deep differences between people. Religious and secular, different political views, different ways of life. Sometimes we feel distance from others, even a sense of looking down. And sometimes, just as importantly, people feel that about themselves.

In that reality, there is a powerful teaching that helps guide us.

This week’s parshiot, Acharei Mot–Kedoshim, bring us to one of the most well-known commands in the Torah: “Ve’ahavta l’rei’acha kamocha”—love your fellow as yourself. Rabbi Akiva teaches that this is a klal gadol baTorah, a central principle of the Torah (Torat Kohanim, Kedoshim).

One place where we see what this means in practice is in the Mishnah in Bava Kama (90a–90b), which discusses how to measure compensation for embarrassment.

At first, the Mishnah brings an opinion that embarrassment depends on a person’s social standing. A more important person feels greater embarrassment, and a less significant person feels less. In other words, a person’s status affects how we measure what was done to them.

Rabbi Akiva strongly disagrees. He teaches:

“Afilu aniyim she’b’Yisrael ro’in otam ke’ilu heim bnei chorin she’yardu minichseihem, she’hem bnei Avraham Yitzchak veYaakov.”

Even the poorest in Israel are viewed as if they are free and dignified........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)